Postdoctoral Research Assistant/Associate (Fixed Term)

Fixed-term: The funds for this post are available for 3 years in the first instance.

Environmental Politics, History and Justice in Africa

We invite applications for a 3-year, fixed-term, full-time postdoctoral research associate to be part of the newly established Philomathia Africa Programme, with funding from the Isaac Newton Trust. The post holder will work under the supervision of Dr Adam Branch, Director of the Cambridge Centre of African Studies. The starting date is negotiable but will be no later than October 2019.

We are open to any specialty within the broad areas of environmental politics, environmental history, or environmental justice in Africa, reflecting the interdisciplinary nature of the Philomathia Africa Programme. We welcome candidates with expertise in politics, geography, history, anthropology, political ecology, sociology, African studies, development studies, or other relevant fields. The applicant should have a PhD submitted or nearly submitted at the time of application.

The post holder will engage in high-level research, publish in their specialist field, and contribute to teaching and supervision of MPhil students in African Studies and/or Politics and International Studies. They will also assist in the administration of the Philomathia Africa Programme, which is currently launching a programme of collaborative research, conferences, visiting fellowships, and engagement with academics and activist groups in Africa. The postdoctoral research associate will work alongside a team of scholars, students, and activists in Cambridge and in several African universities, conducting their own research and contributing to broader agendas. The holder should be interested in interdisciplinary inquiry into contemporary environmental issues and as well as in contributing to the development of ideas around environmental justice.

Experience working with African universities and Africa-based researchers and civil society is a distinct advantage, as is knowledge of at least one African language. The post holder will be expected and enabled to travel to Africa to undertake research, participate in conferences, and build our networks and relations.

The salary for the Research Associate starts at £32,236 to £39,609 per annum, if you have not yet received your PhD you will be appointed as a Research Assistant and the salary will be starting at £26,243 to £31,302* per annum until the PhD is awarded.

You will need to upload a full curriculum vitae, list of publications and an outline proposal for future research of not more than 2 pages together with the contact details of two academic referees. Please ensure that at least one of your referees is contactable at any time during the selection process, and is made aware that they will be contacted by the HSPS HR Office to request that they upload a reference for you to our Web Recruitment System; and please encourage them to do so promptly.

To apply online for this vacancy, please click on the 'Apply' button below. This will route you to the University's Web Recruitment System, where you will need to register an account (if you have not already) and log in before completing the online application form.

Informal inquiries should be directed to Adam Branch by email, arb209@cam.ac.uk Interviews will be held in May 2019.

Please quote reference JB18034 on your application and in any correspondence about this vacancy.

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